Bilbao’s Excitement Over Liverpool’s Gift: The Rising Star Elijah Gift

The transfer window has not yet begun, but recently, people big and small in Bilbao have been eager to show public concern for this “gift” from Liverpool.

football director of bilbao

Ennaki Williams of Bilbao

It is estimated that this gift is Liverpool’s rising star Elijah Gift.

Full Name: Elijah Gift Izobodo John
Age: 16 years old
Height: 168cm

Primary position: Forward/right wing
Club: Liverpool U18

Elijah Gift was born on June 11, 2006 in a town called Corella, with a total area of ​​84 square kilometers and a total population of only about 7,000 people. His father is a Nigerian who came to Spain for a summer vacation. He met Elijah Gift’s mother there and gave birth to him. At first he played futsal (Futsal) at the Castejón football school in his mother’s hometown.

Image credit: Twitter @BaloiaSarera

At the age of 9, he moved to England with his family and joined the youth training system of Huddersfield Town. Soon after, he joined the Liverpool youth training system as an U12 player.

Being in a foreign land has not buried his talents, this season he has played 17 times in England’s U18 Premier League (U18 Premier League), played 2 times in the FA Youth Cup (FA Youth Cup), and even completed the UEFA Youth League (UEFA Youth League). League) debut.

He was recently called up by Julen Guerrero to play with the Spanish national team in the UEFA European Under-17 Championship, which included Barcelona’s 15-year-old supernova Lamine Yamal, although Elijah Gift only appeared at 25. He was not included in the final list for the team, but he has already attracted the attention of Bilbao.

According to Fabrizio Romano, a well-known scout, Elijah Gift will transfer from Liverpool to Bilbao for 1 million pounds and sign a long-term contract with Bilbao.

playing style

Elijah Gift is described as “an exciting player” on Liverpool’s official website, “He can play in either of the two bands on the attack front.” From the following clips, it can be seen that he has an excellent ability to lead the ball and a good shot Ability, and dare to attack the middle, the style is a bit like the current Bilbao player Ennaki Williams.

Bilbao reuses youth training

It’s not that Liverpool doesn’t use their youth training. Trent Alexander-Arnold, Stefan Bajcetic, and Curtis Jones, who came from Liverpool’s youth training camp, can all find corresponding playing space in Liverpool. But Bilbao has always followed the policy of only using Basque players, which seems to have drawn a moat for the players in the team. As of March this year, the population of Basques was only 2.2 million, less than half of Hong Kong. population. They have a motto:

Image source: athleticbilbaohooligans.wordpress.com

quote“With quarry and hobby does not need import “

Meaning: “With local talent and local support, you don’t need to import.” Let most of their first team players come from their own youth academy.

Will Liverpool sell again?

Elijah Gift’s decision to leave Liverpool has caused disappointment among some fans who believe he has the potential to become a star player. However, Liverpool’s decision to let him go was based on competition for his position and an attractive offer. Liverpool has many other young stars in the same position in the youth training system, such as Ben Doak, Harvey Blair, Trent Kone-Doherty and Ranel Young, etc. Among them, Ben Doak, who is the most anticipated by fans, has even played in the hands of Gao Pu this season. Team, the future is limitless.

Image credit: planetfootball.com

The right-wing position in Bilbao this season is actually considered thin, the main force is arranged by the Williams brothers, the younger brother Nico Williams (Nico Williams) is mostly selected as the main player, and the older brother Iñaki Williams (Iñaki Williams) who is more often used as the front arrow He also takes up this position from time to time, but it is still too early to say whether Elijah Gift can play in the first team after joining, but I believe that in time, Bilbao, who dare to use young players, will definitely give him quite a lot of opportunities.

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